SVSEF Athletes Race with the Best at U.S. Alpine Championships, Western Region FIS Open

U.S. Alpine Championships bring top racers to Warm Springs

It was a successful week of racing here in Sun Valley at the Nature Valley U.S. Alpine Championships. Throngs of spectators gathered to watch top athletes as they tackled alpine combined, super G, slalom and giant slalom courses on Greyhawk.
 
Start lists featured U.S. athletes for the most part, but were dotted with skiers from across the globe – Japan, Croatia, Sweden, Germany and Canada were a few of the countries represented. Among the fields of high-ranking athletes were three current SVSEF skiers and three alums of the program. Hayden Terjeson, Haley Cutler and Erin Smith are on the Alpine FIS Team. Tanner Farrow attends Westminster College, Kipling Wiesel represents Dartmouth, and Teagen Palmer skis for the University of Utah; all three grew up racing for SVSEF.

SVSEF alum Teagen Palmer at the end of a giant slalom run on March 27. Photo courtesy of Becky Smith.

The first event of the week was the men’s alpine combined on March 22. Brennan Rubie won, followed by Kieffer Christianson and Hig Roberts. Kipling Weisel had a strong race, finishing 10^th in a field of 57 men. In the men’s super G, Jack Gower of Great Britain took first, with Brennan Rubie in second and Kieffer Christianson in third. Kipling again had a strong performance, finishing ninth.
 
The women raced the same event the next day. Galena Wardle was the overall winner, while Megan McJames was second and Patricia Mangan third. Haley Cutler raced with tenacity, skiing to eighth overall and fifth for juniors. Erin Smith earned top 20 with a 17^th place finish in a field of 43 skiers. Laurenne Ross captured the women’s super G title, with Jacqueline Wiles in second and Anna Marno in third. Haley Cutler was 9^th and Erin Smith tied for 17^th.
 
In the women’s super G on March 24, Anna Marno was champion. Laurenne Ross was second and Patricia Mangan was third. Haley Cutler just missed the top 10, placing 11^th. Erin Smith was 21^st for the day.
 
In the men’s event, Tim Jitloff stood at the top of the podium; Ryan Cochran-Siegle was second and Erik Arvidsson was third. Tanner Farrow was on point, landing in 10^th, while Hayden Terjeson was 41^st.
 
Men’s and women’s slalom events took place on March 25. Icy conditions made for a rough start to the day; a total of 38 women did not finish their first run. Mikaela Shiffrin showed why she’s top-ranked, winning by nearly seven seconds. Lila Lapanja was second, and Canadian Roni Remme was third. Erin Smith and Haley Cutler skied smart races and finished in 17^th and 18^th, respectively.
 
On the men’s side, David Chodounsky skied to first, Robby Kelley to second and Michael Ankeny to third.
 
The final discipline of the week was the giant slalom; the men skied on March 26 and the women on March 27. Kieffer Christianson continued his hot streak, winning the men’s race. Ryan Cochran-Siegle was second and Erik Read rounded out the top three. Tanner Farrow earned another 10^th place, and Kipling Weisel was 17^th. Mikaela Shiffrin again dominated, edging out Resi Stiegler for the win in the women’s event – Megan McJames was third. Teagen Palmer was 25^th, Erin Smith 26^th and Haley Cutler 29^th.

The women's giant slalom podium, with Mikaela Shiffrin in first, Resi Stiegler in second and Megan McJames in third. Photo courtesy of Becky Smith.

In addition to the official alpine competitions, Sun Valley hosted a Big Air Exposition on Friday, March 25 at Dollar Mountain. Coaches Colin Collins, Rick Millett and Reed Snyderman joined SVSEF athletes Alvaro Jiraldo and Will Griffith and SVSEF alum Banks Gilberti in running laps on the jump and getting some major elevation. A sizeable crowd cheered on the skiers and snowboarders as they catapulted 75 to 100 feet into the air off a 75-foot table. The athletes threw double fronts and backs and cork 7 blunts, among other stunts, until wind speeds picked up and cut the event short.
 
Video of Big Air Exposition by Kim Garvin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UotBjcmO4kc
 
 
 

Reporting by Idaho Mountain Express (see original article here)

SVSEF racer McClure second at Sugar Bowl

Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation alpine ski racer Yuri McClure, 17, grabbed a second place in men’s giant slalom in Wednesday’s Western Region FIS Open race at Sugar Bowl, Ca.
 
It was the best ever International Ski Federation (FIS) finish for McClure, a Wood River High School senior. He won the second run out of 96 two-run finishers and placed first among the 83 U-19 men.
 
McClure has enjoyed success at Sugar Bowl this winter, having placed fifth in the National Junior giant slalom on the California hill Jan. 14. He was 12th in Tuesday’s GS at Sugar Bowl, the fifth U-19.
 
Other SVSEF men and their GS finishes from Wednesday:
26—John Blackburn (8th U-19). 30—Spencer Wright (12th U-19). 31—Will Snyder (13th U-19). 39—Kristian DeWolfe (19th U-19). 57—Charlie Lamb (36th U-19). 67—Wyatt Smith (44th U-19). 68—Walter Lafky (45th).
Will Snyder also cracked the top-10 among U-19 racers with a 10th place (26th overall) in Tuesday’s men’s GS.
 
SVSEF racer Skylar Cooley showed improvement in giant slalom Wednesday, rising to 18th place overall of 56 women and 13th in the U-19 class. She was 44th (28th U-19) Tuesday.
 
The weeklong race series wrapped up Thursday with men’s and women’s slalom.
 
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Men’s slalom results:
14- Will Snyder
30- Spencer Wright
 
 
 
 
 

Racers and pros gear up for the SVSEF Janss Pro-Am Classic

 
Keep an eye out for a slew of bold costumes and get-ups at Warm Springs this weekend; the SVSEF Janss Pro-Am Classic is back in full force. In its 19^th iteration, the event’s theme this year is “The Reel Deal Movie Magic,” with teams choosing costumes based on favorite flicks. Named for Bill Janss, who owned Sun Valley from 1964 through 1977 and was an avid supporter of SVSEF, the event runs Thursday through Saturday. Dual giant slalom races will take place on Friday and Saturday. Teams are comprised of a Senior Pro, a Junior Pro who is a current SVSEF athlete, and four other racers of all abilities. This is SVSEF’s biggest fundraising event of the year, and all proceeds go towards growing the foundation.
 
Social passes can be purchased through end of day today; passes grant access to all events. Contact Jody for more details – jody@svsef.org or (208) 726-4129 ext. 102.

by Scott McGrew